Teacher Forces Atheist Student to Recite Pledge of Allegiance, Threatens

[circlethesquare]

From: The David Pakman Show

[valerief]

1. Cuz, like, freedumb and as such. nt

[FiveGoodMen]

2. The freedom to coerce or be coerced.

That's what freedom means to these ... ... ... 'Patriots'

[iamthebandfanman]

3. if God wasnt added..

and it had been kept as its socialist Baptist minister writer had intended, I probably wouldn't have nearly as much of a problem with it being recited.
I know a lot of folks see it as coercion, propaganda, and authoritarian... but having a little bit of patriotism, or a lil humble pride in the future you hope your country creates, isn't a bad thing..
you just have to make sure ego doesn't become concerned, or else youll end up with nationalism and true blind allegiance..

I think it would be fine to let teachers to make time to have their classes recite the pledge, so long as those who didn't want to were allowed to not participate if they so wished not to.. no one should ever be forced.

[immoderate]

4. It's voodoo -- magical thinking, that words create reality.

The kids that say it day after day, a thousand times, mostly have no notion of what they're saying. At best it's indoctrination. Like religion, this should be introduced after the child (or adult) is capable of critical thinking.

--imm

[blkmusclmachine]

5. You gotta brain-wash 'em young.

[Politicalboi]

6. We should end the pledge in classrooms

It's stupid. It wastes time, and we don't need it. It alienates those who don't want to recite it for whatever reason. It should be looked at like prayers. Go get your group together and say the pledge BEFORE school starts.

[Mr.Bill]

7. Actually forced loyalty oaths by children are nothing new.

There's films about it from the 1930s. They are hard to understand though, because the narration is in German.

[ancianita]

8. Obedience training. That right there is not knowing the difference between being AN authority

and being IN authority. It's training children not to know the difference, either. The new authoritarians "have it on good authority" that "God" is for our protection and our own good.

[KurtNYC]

9. In my grade school there was a 2nd grader who declined the pledge

Teacher sent them to the Principal. Principal double checked the law and precedent, told the teacher that the kid had a right not to say it and 'don't make a big deal out of it because if other kids find out they don't have to say it....'

Next day, the kid didn't say it. Classmates watched for the teacher to react (and perhaps punish the deviant), nothing. The kid got assaulted on the playground after word went around that they weren't saying the Pledge. Next day, same thing. The story spread to high schoolers.

A week later there was an assembly at the high school, same school system. They asked all to stand for the pledge, about half did not and that launched a city wide debate over whether the youth were "going commie" and similar theories.

[markpkessinger]

10. There are probably few people still living . . .

. . . who have any memory of the "Bellamy salute" that originally accompanied recitations of the Pledge. It looked like this (and if you are chilled by this photo, you should be):